Welcome House

With the generous support of the Ottawa Portuguese Community, Welcome House opened in December, 2018. Welcome House is a transitional home for homeless immigrants who are in need of a temporary and welcoming home. It is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES

• to be an integral part of the settlement services in the community
• to be responsive to the needs of the clients
• to encourage multi-agency support

OUR SUPPORT FOR NEWCOMERS

We help newcomers by providing information and orientation workshops about the immigration system, life in Ottawa, and how to access a variety of community services. We also provide six months of life skills coaching to newcomers after they have moved to their permanent home. We also help newcomers address any health needs and provide a children’s program to help them adjust to a new community as well as prepare for school.

Our housing team helps newcomers look for long-term housing. We provide them with information on the current housing market, accompany them on visits, help them negotiate with landlords, and connect them to a variety of services such as utilities. Once they find a home, we help them set up and offer home visits to provide life skills support.

We also help families with those everyday tasks such as enrolling children into school, opening bank accounts, learning how to use public transit, and more.